Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has insisted that becoming permanent club captain, having inherited the position from Harry Maguire, won’t change his style of play.
With Maguire losing his place in the team at the start of last season, Fernandes has regularly captained United for past 12 months anyway. But it became a permanent position in July.
Fernandes’ first act as club captain, only the fourth non-British or Irish skipper in 145 years, was to score the opening goal of a 2-0 pre-season win over Arsenal. Unsurprisingly, the Portuguese hasn’t missed a minute since the 2023/24 Premier League campaign kicked off last month.
“I see it more as an honour than a responsibility. It’s obviously a responsibility being captain of this massive club, but for me, it’s more of an honour than that,” he said in an episode of the club’s in-house Player Diaries series.
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It can be a concern that the burden of leadership serves to limit or restrict flair players in their usual game. Fernandes, by his own admission, is a risk taker on the ball to create chances and goals. But he is adamant that he won’t play the game any differently because of a new title.
“It won’t change anything. I want to be a better player,” he said. “I want to be lifting trophies even more now I’m captain because you get those special moments. We have a lot of leaders in the team, we have a lot of people capable of that work and that helps me get everyone on the same page.”
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